eBay

rose-dee · ‎01-12-2018

I'm wondering whether any other sellers have experienced long delays in letter mail shipments within Canada since Christmas.

I sent a vintage clothing item via letter mail (in a bubble envelope) to Dauphin, Manitoba on December 18th and the buyer tells me it still hasn't arrived as of today. He has been courteous and patient so far, I have no reason to doubt his word. The item fit easily under the 2cm thickness limit, and the edges of the #5 bubble envelope were taped to fit under the 27cm width restriction. There was actually more postage than necessary on the package (I had nothing but a bunch of "P" stamps on hand, so I ended up overpaying required postage).

This is so far a full 4 weeks from my location in Nova Scotia to Dauphin, MB, and apparently it's still not there. The item was under $50, and I didn't insure it (no tracking of course for letter mail).

Since I have never -- ever -- had a parcel actually become lost in all the years I've been selling, I'm hoping this is a case of backlog at Canada Post, having let go all those extra seasonal part-time employees hired before Christmas. Still, by the end of this coming week I'm going to feel obliged to refund my poor buyer if the item hasn't shown up. I'm a bit disgusted with CPC at this point.

Has anyone else seen month-long delays in letter mail parcels that were sent just prior to Christmas?

Anonymous · ‎01-13-2018

Pity that you didn't use mail service with tracking number. During the Christmas time, I send out 22 parcels/packages by XpressPost which is much cheaper than Expedited by $1 to 2.50 even by 57 cents! Wonder if Canada Post/XpressPost lower the rates during the Xmas time? I will certainly use XpressPost if they are doing again for the Xmas time.

momcqueen · ‎01-13-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
Pity that you didn't use mail service with tracking number. During the Christmas time, I send out 22 parcels/packages by XpressPost which is much cheaper than Expedited by $1 to 2.50 even by 57 cents! Wonder if Canada Post/XpressPost lower the rates during the Xmas time? I will certainly use XpressPost if they are doing again for the Xmas time.

Do you have screenshots of that pricing? It's not been my experience and I too use Xpresspost at Christmas. You're not confusing Regular Parcel with Expedited Parcel, are you?

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2018

I do NOT use Regular Parcel as it is more expensive than Expedited.

For across Canada I use only Expedited and XpressPost. For USA I use only Tracked Packet or Expedited or XpressPost. For International I use Tracked Packet or XpressPost. I no longer use any mail service without tracking number the last 5 years.

I am NOT confused. PayPal actually offered cheaper rates for XpressPost across Canada during the Xmas timed and I used them which why not as it is cheaper and faster than Expedited and of course all my buyers were happy to received them before Xmas which they didn't expect.

Whenever I sold any item(s) and go to PayPal Shipping and I checked both Expedited and XpressPost and see which is reasonable and choose one before I purchased and this time during the Xmas time I surprised to see XpressPost was more reasonable.

You should check them out each time.

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2018

You could have use Expedited or XpressPost during the Xmas time. As for femme's famous penny jar insurance it is not worth as you lose $$$ by refunding and losing the items at the same time. With tracking number you would get $$ back. It doesn't pay to be cheapstake for a few bucks only to end up losing lots of items and $$$ at the same time.

momcqueen · ‎01-14-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
I do NOT use Regular Parcel as it is more expensive than Expedited.
For across Canada I use only Expedited and XpressPost. For USA I use only Tracked Packet or Expedited or XpressPost. For International I use Tracked Packet or XpressPost. I no longer use any mail service without tracking number the last 5 years.

I am NOT confused. PayPal actually offered cheaper rates for XpressPost across Canada during the Xmas timed and I used them which why not as it is cheaper and faster than Expedited and of course all my buyers were happy to received them before Xmas which they didn't expect.

Whenever I sold any item(s) and go to PayPal Shipping and I checked both Expedited and XpressPost and see which is reasonable and choose one before I purchased and this time during the Xmas time I surprised to see XpressPost was more reasonable.

You should check them out each time.

I don't use Paypal Shipping. Even after almost two years, it doesn't offer Tracked Packet to all 31 countries that Canada Post offers it for so it's useless to me. I am with Shippo.

If, in fact, Xpresspost was cheaper than Expedited Parcel all through the holiday season with Paypal Shipping, why are you telling us now when it's too late for anyone else to use?

pc.man006 · ‎01-14-2018

I cant believe how badly delays with Canada post, its such an unusual long waiting time to get an item through Ebay especially if the items being shipped from china and other countries. I still didn't get a parcel since 3 months over. it takes like forever and some of items arrived defective, the sellers are unresponsive to opened requests, returns etc.. Ebay should provide also a written contact from members not just call feature.

rose-dee · ‎01-14-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
Pity that you didn't use mail service with tracking number. During the Christmas time, I send out 22 parcels/packages by XpressPost which is much cheaper than Expedited by $1 to 2.50 even by 57 cents! Wonder if Canada Post/XpressPost lower the rates during the Xmas time? I will certainly use XpressPost if they are doing again for the Xmas time.

This was a sale to a Canadian buyer (I sell mostly to the U.S.), and I had listed the shipping as "free" (which in this case meant the entire shipping cost came out of my pocket, not rolled into the item price). The item was very light and small (a vintage blouse), so the inexpensive $34 sale price unfortunately didn't justify using a tracked service. The listed price was more or less a loss leader to begin with, something I thought would especially appeal to a Canadian buyer (a 1950's T. Eaton Co. garment) that I could ship letter mail for free. And so it did -- this buyer runs a small Eaton's museum, and does talks and exhibits around Manitoba. Which just makes me all the more disgusted with Canada Post that the parcel hasn't arrived.

I believe if I had shipped it Xpresspost or Expedited, the item would have had to go in a box of some sort (due to minimum dimension restrictions for those services), and I likely would have come up against volumetric shipping charges because of the very light weight. Chances are the shipping would have cost over $20, not something I was prepared to pay for a $34 sale with free shipping. I honestly didn't consider it much of a risk to use letter mail since I have never experienced a 4-week delay domestically in all the years I've been selling. Oh well, this is one of those rare instances where Cookie Jar Insurance applies.

I'm not upset about the loss of the $34, nor the item itself (although it's sad if it actually got lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair, because it's a rather rare little piece). I really don't even care about the FVFs at this point. I'm mostly angry at Canada Post, as my buyer's plans for an upcoming exhibit will be ruined if the item doesn't arrive soon, as will likely his confidence in ever buying from eBay again.

Thank you everyone for your input on the refund process. The buyer has kindly agreed to wait until this coming Wednesday, after which I've agreed to refund (I'll get him to open an eBay INR). Fingers crossed that Canada Post finally shows up with the parcel.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-14-2018

Unfortunately because I'm a "free shipping" kinda guy, and they counted the refund as being shipping (this is an international lot, free domestic so I pay no FVF on the international shipping) I didn't get a FVF refund because there was no FVF on the shipping originally.

If I ever do a partial refund higher than the shipping via PAYPAL directly, I'll have to check the fees. I strongly suspect that the fees would be refunded based on how closely linked it is......

No. I might not have explained that well. I was referring to your comment about eBay not showing a refund done on PP and I was saying that they do show that the amount paid has been changed. But I wasn't suggesting that you would get a fvf credit for a partial refund done through PP. I think that the only time you will get fvf credit is when a refund is done through a case whether it be a PP or eBay case.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-14-2018

You've mentioned a number of times at different times throughout the year that xpresspost is often cheaper than expedited. Anytime you have mentioned it I would check for myself and I couldn't find a situation where that was true.

Next time you see that, please give us a specific example with weights, dimensions and pricing so that we can check and perhaps figure out if it happens in certain circumstances.

ricarmic · ‎01-14-2018

Hmmmm PJC you've been making me put my thinking cap on a lot lately!!

Yes the PAYPAL only INR example that I was thinking of was a PAYPAL buyer initiated INR case, so one would presume that it would catch those.

However given ebay noticed that I paypal directly refunded money for a shipping refund (with no request from buyer) and was smart enough to assign it to the shipping tells me they are linking refunds. Whether they'd refund ebay FVF would be interesting to know.

It will be interesting to know if anyone has:

Done a refund greater than the shipping amount directly from paypal, without a buyer request and if any ebay FVF were refunded?

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-14-2018

You're making me think too!

eBay reps have said here and/or on the US boards that the only way a partial refund done through PP would get a fvf credit was if the seller phoned in and requested a credit.

Anonymous · ‎01-14-2018

It seems that you are doubtful about. I am not that kind that would be off the wall as some of you think!

All packages/parcels from Manitoba to.......

XpressPost to London Ontario for a 21x14x1 cm is $13.46 while Expedited is $13.36.

XpressPost to Saskatoon for a 33x25x2cm $9.99.

XpressPost to Santa Monica California for a 79cmx62x2cm $34.81 while Expedited is $32.49.

XpressPost to Toronto for a 25x20x2cm is $15.31 while Expedited is $13.15.

XpressPost to Swan River for a 33x25x2cm is $12.53 while Expedited is $12.38.

XpressPost to London Ontario for a 33x25x1cm is $13.63.

XpressPost to Etoicobe Ontario for a 33x25x1cm $13.63.

I could go on and on but you get the picture. Now do you believe me or not?

When I go to PayPal Shipping, I always check for Expedited and XpressPost and check for the most lowest rate before purchasing the shipping labels and too often PayPal Shipping surprised me with XpressPost's lower rates lately.

Again it is much cheaper to use mail service with tracking number than to rely on penny jar like Femme said, with the jar you are losing way more with losing $$$ by refund and item at the same time while you can file claim with Canada Post to get the refund(s).

momcqueen · ‎01-14-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
It seems that you are doubtful about........
XpressPost to London Ontario for a 21x14x1 cm is $13.46 while Expedited is $13.36.
XpressPost to Santa Monica California for a 79cmx62x2cm $34.81 while Expedited is $32.49.
XpressPost to Toronto for a 25x20x2cm is $15.31 while Expedited is $13.15.
XpressPost to Swan River for a 33x25x2cm is $12.53 while Expedited is $12.38.

Pardon me?

The boldface is mine.

In every example you cited with both Expedited Parcel and Xpresspost costs given, you've disproven your own previous statement that Xpresspost was/is cheaper than Expedited Parcel postage.

Am I misunderstanding something here?

Had you said at the onset of this sub discussion that Xpresspost is sometimes hardly more expensive than Expedited, I'd have immediately agreed, as we've all no doubt seen that within our own regions that there is often little price difference between the services as there is zero difference in delivery standards; I can ship across the street by both Expedited Parcel and Xpresspost for less than a dollar of difference but they both take one day to deliver.

But you specifically said Xpresspost was cheaper (less expensive) than Expedited via Paypal Shipping before Christmas.

Please clarify. I think we're genuinely confused now.

Anonymous · ‎01-15-2018

For heaven's sake! When I said XpressPost is cheaper comparing to Expedited when XpressPost usually double or triple than Expedited in the past and that is what I consider XpressPost cheaper. Now do you get it or not?

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-15-2018

There isn't much of a difference in price between the two services in your examples but the one that really surprises me is the one to California. Tonight I printed a label for a package from Alberta to Philadelphia. The package was 29x24x5 60 grams. Expedited parcel was $19.98 and Xpresspost was $36.76 That's a huge difference between the two services.

Because you do use tracking all the time and I often use lettermail within Canada, you likely print many more labels than I do so you might receive better rates than I do. Perhaps in the other rate tiers, xpresspost is more competitive.

momcqueen · ‎01-15-2018

@Anonymous wrote:
For heaven's sake! When I said XpressPost is cheaper comparing to Expedited when XpressPost usually double or triple than Expedited in the past and that is what I consider XpressPost cheaper. Now do you get it or not?

If that was your intent, then a more clear means of expressing it would have been to say, "I think Xpresspost is less expensive than it has been in the past." When instead you list two services and say one is cheaper, then you've misled the comperhension of it.

Maybe what you don't yet understand is that when a seller prints postage with Shippo, there is no need to do a cost comparison like there is with paypal Shipping. With Shippo, all the available services are shown to the seller at a glance after entering weight and dimensions. One single page displays all costs and delivery standards. The seller then made a split-second decision about what cost/standard to choose. The workflow with Shippo is not like it is with Paypal Shipping, there is no back and forth. A seller sees immediately that Xpresspot is only 53 cents more and still gets it there in one day less at best.

For example:All available postage rates and associated delivery standards available at a glance, enabling a seller to make an immediate decision without having to toggle back and forth

momcqueen · ‎01-15-2018

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
There isn't much of a difference in price between the two services in your examples but the one that really surprises me is the one to California. Tonight I printed a label for a package from Alberta to Philadelphia. The package was 29x24x5 60 grams. Expedited parcel was $19.98 and Xpresspost was $36.76 That's a huge difference between the two services.

Because you do use tracking all the time and I often use lettermail within Canada, you likely print many more labels than I do so you might receive better rates than I do. Perhaps in the other rate tiers, xpresspost is more competitive.

We don't get the same discounts with International Xpresspost as we do with domestic Xpresspost and, you're right, our display rates are all based on our actual individual business usage now so rates shown between one user and the next may well be different. I'm unsure as to what my tier level with CPC is at the moment but I do expect to be bumped up in the future. This new means of assigning discounts is an improvement, in my opinion. There were times in the past when I wondered the reason I bothered using Paypal Shipping at all when I could have achieved the same level of discount on my own, had a done that from the onset.

rose-dee · ‎01-15-2018

@mjwl2006momcqueen wrote:
The workflow with Shippo is not like it is with Paypal Shipping, there is no back and forth. A seller sees immediately that Xpresspot is only 53 cents more and still gets it there in one day less at best.
Not to seem picayune, but now I'm confused. In the Shippo rate table you posted, it looks as if the Xpresspost service is $4.07 more than Expedited (unless my poor eyesight is playing tricks on me). How did you arrive at 53 cents?

I think we have to be a bit generous and cut 'honeybed' some slack here. I don't believe English is her first language, and her point may have been poorly expressed but justified. I tend to agree that Xpresspost is often a far better deal than Expedited, given the sometimes minor cost differences.

One could even plausibly argue that Xpresspost is in fact cheaper in many cases (depending on destination), considering the seller gets delivery confirmation and guaranteed delivery time thrown into the bargain. I have had CPC reimburse me the entire Xpresspost charge for being 1 day late from the promised delivery. This was around a $60 shipping cost. I do recall 'honeybed' mentioning the same thing some time ago.

I think if you're shipping items of some value, these considerations, in view of the often small differences between the two services, can make Xpresspost a better bargain overall. And yes, it is also possible that 'honeybed' is getting a higher CPC discount rate than the rest of us.

tobyshitzu · ‎01-15-2018

xpresspost is only slightly more then expedited when the distance is close enough the delivery standard is the same...so both services are identical expect the name on the label

momcqueen · ‎01-15-2018

@rose-dee wrote:
@mjwl2006momcqueen wrote:
The workflow with Shippo is not like it is with Paypal Shipping, there is no back and forth. A seller sees immediately that Xpresspot is only 53 cents more and still gets it there in one day less at best.
Not to seem picayune, but now I'm confused. In the Shippo rate table you posted, it looks as if the Xpresspost service is $4.07 more than Expedited (unless my poor eyesight is playing tricks on me). How did you arrive at 53 cents?

It was another example. It did not correlate with the example in the screenshot. If you have time to wait, I will find you a 53-cent example.

As to slack, that's fine. Except that other people reading the thread won't have inside information like that if that is, in fact, the case. Asking for evidence to support a surprising claim should not be construed as hostile. The original post was very clear in its intent to prove Xpresspost cost less than Expedited Parcel. It said, and I quote: "During the Christmas time, I send out 22 parcels/packages by XpressPost which is much cheaper than Expedited by $1 to 2.50 even by 57 cents!" See Message 21 of 39 with 201 views.